How do you minimise car servicing costs?

tori.k

Do you have a College near you that trains mechanics, as our local's one does servicing/ diagnostic and some repairs on the cheap (no labour cost) as it's the students that do the work under supervision.

Ilona

DrWatson1 wrote: »

Great post. I don't exactly dither while driving, but just by being proactive rather than reactive you can save greatly on general wear and tear. For example, I've managed to get nearly 50k miles out of my rear tyres, and there is hardly any wear at all on my brakes after the same amount of miles.

Exactly. Money saving starts the minute you turn the key and start the engine. Treat a car with respect and don't abuse it and it will extend the life of the components. Some people drive to within six feet of their front bonnet, then have to stab at the brakes when something untoward happens.

I often watch the the car in front of me as we approach a roundabout. Their speed stays the same until they realize they have to stop, then they slam the brakes on. I have already eased off the accelerator, the car is slowing down, I am looking into the roundabout and if it is good visibility I might only have to drop a gear if it is clear, and carry on. No need to use brakes at all. My tyres last a long time as well.

Ilona

Bmp_2

Here goes my 1st post


Independent garages in rural areas have a captive audience so can charge accordingly.

In my opinion servicing does need to be done regularly as it's not just about protecting resale value but they do change the oil spark plugs filters etc but check the brakes tyres cv boots and so on. Fast fit centres like Kwik - Fit will do an oil & Filter change for circa £50, but you can at any time get a free winter check which checks oil water tyre condition bulbs & blades amongst others, you can drive in anytime and get a tyre check, brake check or alignment check. You can book a same day MOT with them online for £27 utilising their unbooked slots for that day.

kazt2006

Just a point no one has picked up on, if you skip servicing of a car check the terms of your insurance as it is usually a requirement to ensure it is regularly serviced and in good working order.

I used to take my car to Kwik Fit, as it was round the corner from "home", until they tried to charge me £80 for the replacement glass on a wing mirror. The local dealer was £25. Since then I've built a really good relationship with the guys at both branches of National Tyres to the point if they see my car pulling onto the forecourt, they want to know what else I've done to it!


I drive a now 12 year old Panda (and have done for almost 9 years). Basic costs are £200 for insurance & breakdown, MOT £30, Service £150, 2x Tyres £80 when necessary. Plus anything else. In the next year I'm expecting a full new exhaust which means in reality the cost of keeping it on the road is more than it's worth but I'm not quite in a position to buy a newer car for cash!

leespot

kazt2006 wrote: »

Just a point no one has picked up on, if you skip servicing of a car check the terms of your insurance as it is usually a requirement to ensure it is regularly serviced and in good working order.

I used to take my car to Kwik Fit, as it was round the corner from "home", until they tried to charge me £80 for the replacement glass on a wing mirror. The local dealer was £25. Since then I've built a really good relationship with the guys at both branches of National Tyres to the point if they see my car pulling onto the forecourt, they want to know what else I've done to it!


I drive a now 12 year old Panda (and have done for almost 9 years). Basic costs are £200 for insurance & breakdown, MOT £30, Service £150, 2x Tyres £80 when necessary. Plus anything else. In the next year I'm expecting a full new exhaust which means in reality the cost of keeping it on the road is more than it's worth but I'm not quite in a position to buy a newer car for cash!

You might have to keep the car in a good state of repair / road worthy- but insurance companies can't enforce a regular servicing regime. Although anyone that doesn't regularly service a car needs their head testing.

PoorGuyNextDoor

Iv two weeks off over Xmas i usually change the filter and oil at some point during that. Once youve done it once you will never pay someone to do it again, its easy money.

lazer-zxr

Inspired by this thread, and youtube "how to videos", I've undertkaen my first bit of car maintenance today. Put a new back exhaust section on my Xsara Picasso. Bought it on Ebay for £23. Fitted for free. Saved £95 quoted at local garage, so net save £72. Thanks.

jam_rs

Just want to give another view on this.

I'm all up for people saving money on there motoring costs, but sometimes the things I see on a day to day basis in our workshop that are not going to save money in the long term.

First off, service schedules are important. Missing a service, or using poor quality parts will cost you in the long run. Buying the cheapest oil filter and oil? Lots of cars have high specifications to the oil needed, if you skimp on this then don't expect to have a smooth running engine for the life of the car. For example, many cars require 'low ash' oil, incorrect oil will cause long term problems. The cheapest oil filter may not last the service interval, or just might not be up to the job. I've seen cheap filters collapse, then you will have problems.
Which nicely brings me onto 50-70 pound oil changes, there gonna be the cheapest oil and filter around, bare that in mind - these especially not for your Mercedes, BMWs, VWs & Audis.

What is a service? Is it a oil change? Is it change the filters? Is it something else? On some cars, a service can be purely just an inspection. (change nothing)

Most cars service books will tell you the interval of serviceable items. (Oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter as basic items and even the things you didn't realise need to be done). It's worth having a look and familiarising your self with it. I know some people that will 'full service' there car every time - this is not cost effective.

Taking your car to a well respected garage that specialises in your cars brand will probably pay off in the long run. They will spot the things that your average Fred in shed won't know about - before things break, potentially costing more.

Code readers when your engine warning light comes on - ultimately, all diagnostic equipment, whether it be thousands of pounds or £15 of eBay all 'read codes'. Its how you interpret that information. Usually if you have a code and 'google it' that will give a pretty good indication of whats wrong! More expensive equipment can do a whole host of 'things' that you probably couldn't dream of - from software updates, to live engine data, to test procedures, to controlling engine components separately - sometimes a combination of all this will be required to diagnose your problem.

I know that there are places out there that just try to rip people off. On the other hand, I know there are one man bands that will look after you, treat you with respect and have a wealth of knowledge in there head. Also there are many good independents out there. Never take your car to the dealer though.

Ps. If you change the brake pads on your 1 series, always replace the pad sensor with a new one and reset the service interval indicator (yes there is a service interval indicator for the pads - if not reset you will have a service due message flag up every time you turn it on).
Do you need discs? Well the only way to tell is to measure them, they will have a recommended minimum thickness.

Hope this info is of some use!